One More Piece of Information

This could be the most powerful question you ask yourself, in business or for life in general…

Would you like a single, simple rule that will improve your communication, business culture, and life?

Consider this: assume there is always one more piece of information that you don’t have, which perfectly explains the other person’s choice.

Stephen Covey writes about being frustrated at the poor discipline of an inattentive father on the subway, only to learn (one more piece of information) that the man’s wife, the child’s mother, had just died.

In our daily life, it’s effortless (and common) to judge those we interact with – for their attire, their behaviour, their attitude. But what if there was just one more piece of information that we don’t have about their story.

The luggage that was lost on a flight. Cultural differences for an international expat. Sick children at home.

In these situations, our frustration impacts nobody but ourselves. We fail to understand what the other person is experiencing, the context for their actions, and we punish ourselves emotionally as a result.

One more piece of information? A different context? I guarantee it exists – and that you’ll be happier even if you only assume to know what it may be.

Jacob Aldridge

PS: This week’s links address the notion of ‘Context’ – why we make decisions in certain ways. We hope you enjoy.

You may also enjoy learning more about our upcoming ‘Open Home’ workshops with Darren Shirlaw (in Sydney and Brisbane) or discovering the Business of Brand opportunity with Linzi Boyd in March.

The World’s Greatest Culture Presentation

Imagine doing an incredible job in a company adding millions of customers each year … and then being fired.

Imagine, even more so, understanding that decision – because you wrote the incredibly powerful Culture paper your redundancy was based upon.

The Netflix Culture slide presentation is a critical piece of information for every business leader… Click Here to Read More

Six Photographers, One Man

This 3-minute video explains the importance of Context like no other we have seen.

How will 6 photographers create their picture of the same subject? How different can they really be?

We’ll let you in on a secret in advance – each of the photographers has been fed a completely different story – CONTEXT – of the man they are about to meet. Click Here to view the Video

10 Helpful Productivity Tweaks

If, like most business owners, you struggle to achieve your outcomes each day…

And if, like most humans, you’ve found that changing habits isn’t easy…

Then read this from a space of CONTEXT – why am I doing this – rather than CONTENT – what am I doing.

Joke of the Week

A young businessman starts his own company, with a vision to build a culture of excellence. To set the right example, when the staff assemble in his office for their first team meeting the owner is on the phone.

“While I appreciate that you want to support my new venture, I simply cannot accept an order as small as five million,” he says into the phone, hanging up and turning to the team.

“Right then, what’s the first item on our agenda?” he asks his PA.

“Phone lines,” she replies.

“Telstra advise that they can’t be connected until at least next Tuesday.”